RemnantTale
by IAmTheUltimateGleek
Summary: There once was a little girl. A human. Who's red cape reflected the color of her ever determined heart.
1. Prologue

Long ago two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return.

Some believe, that is why the hooded girl had run away to begin with.

Maybe it was because she wanted to end the loneliness.

Maybe she had wanted to never return.

That day though.

The day the small human had climbed up Mt. Beacon, with the intention of vanishing, had been the beginning of it all.

The start of the tale that would echo through out history for centuries to come.


	2. Romey The Flower

The day had been bright, with not a single cloud in the sky. Birds had been gracefully singing soft tunes around the forest.

Rushing boots snapped and crushed fallen leaves on their way upwards.

Most children in the town below Mt. Beacon would be just bidding their families farewell as they departed for school. Some laughing along with friends, others enjoying the serenity around them.

All except one.

The red hooded orphan who locals called a waste. The little girl who was far too small for her age and had not one blood relative left upon the Earth.

Some assumed she was only about 12 years old. She guessed 15 at the least.

It had been a while since anyone had bothered to ask her age, and even longer since she had found the will to care about keeping track of her birthdate.

That morning though had been the one to mark her journey. For the lonely girl had gone up Mt. Beacon with the soul intention of vanishing from the world.

She was tired of running, of hiding, of only having temporary places to stay, of being cast aside, of being alone.

She was just tired.

The red hooded human had gone to the peak expecting an end to her suffering.

Something along the lines of a white light coming from heaven itself to raise her above. Or a slow and peaceful warmth engulfing her like the hug from the family she never had.

What she hadn't expected was a face plant down a never ending void after tripping over a tree root.

Thankfully, depending on who you asked, a pile of orange flowers had broken her fall.

Sorta.

Her front half ached terribly, yet not a single bone had shattered like it should have. The impact still hurt like hell, but she supposed it beat snapping her neck.

Maybe.

Again it depended on what you would consider luck.

Upon her struggle to stand, the small human took time to peer around at the cavern she now laid in.

The walls were dripping and glossed in black shadows. The sky from the surface was far too high above her. Well out of anyone's reach. Other than that there was minimal light being reflected down. Only enough for her to see the endless bounties of orange flowers that rested high enough to touch her knees.

They were beautiful to look at, but that was all they were. A pretty sight in an otherwise barren void.

Not one sign of life.

The loneliness she had run from on the Surface followed her even to here.

Wherever "here" was.

The human attempted to walk, but found her left side giving out immediately. She definitely had twisted her ankle.

Considering how high her entrance point had been though, it seemed a limp was the least of her worries.

For now at least.

While slowly moving through more and more of the bright foliage, the young girl took note of just how scared she was beginning to feel.

At least when she was above ground there were people she could steal food off of and trashcans to loot. At least in the town there was the hustle and bustle of other humans so her thoughts could never deafen her like they did now. At least on the Surface there was the constant reminder that the sun would cast away the darkness and she would not feel blinded for eternity.

But down here it seemed the farther she walked the less likely it would be that any light would touch her pale skin again.

She admitted to herself that this was not the way she had wanted to go.

The cases following the disappearances of kids who climbed the mountain never mentioned the possibilities of their deaths. Starvation, hypothermia, mauled by wolves, dehydration, exhaustion, bleeding out...

The little human wondered which one would kick over her bucket first.

It wasn't fair to suddenly regret her course of action though. When she had climbed up Mt. Beacon it had been to disappear.

After all so many humans told her constantly that she was nothing.

A street rat, a burden, a worthless thief.

She had only wanted to give them all their wish, and go out of the loveless world with a painless grace.

Again she thought of the white lights, choruses of angels, the warmth. Really anything that would have made death quick and fearless. Maybe even tragically beautiful.

Sue her, she was a child. She was allowed to believe in the impossible.

"Hey Red!"

A voice.

Clear and loud, but with no clear gender. It rang around the black walls of the void, echoing loudly enough for the human to believe for a moment there were millions of people surrounding her.

Another nightmare entirely in itself.

"Psssttt, down here!"

Softer this time. Still friendly and clear, but now directly before her.

The human girl looked back and forth between the never ending expanse of orange. There was no human there.

Only a talking flower.

"You must be new here. My names Roman, but you can call me Romey! Romey the flower!"

Perhaps believing in the impossible was no longer as far fetched as it sounded.

The young girl knew of the tales. About the monsters who once ruled along side humans. About the war and the devastation it held over each side. The bloodshed, the ruined lives, the barrier put up to separate the monsters from the surface.

It was all ancient legends. Fables told to children at night.

Though the young girl never would have guessed such a large part of history where countless lives were taken from could relate back to the human race barricading away creatures such as chatty house plants.

"Not much of a talker are ya Red? Its okay! Red seems to fit ya just fine."

Romey, as they called themselves, had bright orange petals along with a loosely bent stem base that connected into the soil. One of their petals was folded down over one eye almost mimicking side bangs. The two green leaves moved like hand gestures and she supposed functioned as arms.

They seemed nice enough.

So the hooded girl nodded her head silently. Accepting Red as an appropriate nickname.

What should it matter to her what the strange creature called her? It was close enough to her real name.

"Great! Looks like you took quite the tumble back there. I hope my flowers were enough to help break the fall!"

Red nodded once though it was clear she was favoring one side.

"Oh shoot no need to spare my feelings kid, it looks like you really got hurt. Im sorry."

They seemed genuinely upset over the human's pain.

How thoughtful.

"Why don't I make it up to you?"

Romey took a moment to pull forward 5 miniature crystals. Well hover was more appropriate. How they were suspending the small stones high enough to be eye level with the human? Red could only assume magic.

All she knew for sure was that each one of the gems was glowing with an ominous red tint.

"These things right here? They're called Friendship Dust. When you let them hit you're body and the HP bar will increase."

Red made a confused facial expression and asked what Romey meant by HP bar?

"Well look at me forgetting my manners! Here one sec-"

Again some form of magic suddenly was used because immediately after raising the crystals higher a clear screen of sorts appeared before Red.

Four options before her, each contained within shimmering lined boxes.

FIGHT/ACT/ITEM/MERCY

"That right there appears before everyone down here at some time or another. Its a sorta like a choice system that allows you to decide clearly. All ya gotta do is touch the option you want, and it does the rest."

A little above the glowing options rested a small holoscreen chart with EXP, LV, and HP written.

"Those there are your meters that show how healthy and full of LOVE you are! LOVE is what we all live off of down here! And from the looks of it you could use some more health right now huh Red? Here take as many crystals as you want!"

The orange flower gently tossed the dust pellets over towards Red, but for some instinctual reason her body told her to dodge.

Growing up on the streets meant her reflexes knew best. So despite what Romey said, Red wasted no time and side stepped away from the floating crystals.

"Hey now! You're not gonna get better if you avoid healing up! Here take these instead."

Once again, Romey tried to throw the stones at Red. They move a little faster this time and spun ominously. The human ducked out of the way, now more cautious as a knot begun to form in her stomach.

The orange flower didn't say anything before suddenly launching five more crystals at Red. Faster and with way more than necessary force.

One managed to graze her forearm.

And boy did it burn.

Really badly.

Suddenly Romey's voice turned darker in tone as their face contorted. What once was something simple and sweet became chaotic and hostile within seconds.

Maybe the humans had been right to fear the monsters.

"Look here you little BRAT. Im trying to HELP you. So how about you just RELAX-"

A vine suddenly shot upwards and wrapped itself tightly around Red's bad leg. Trapping her from dodging any more attacks, despite her hand pressing the FLEE option under MERCY repeatedly.

"-and let your ol PAL Romey HEAL you."

The flower's vine pulled hard on her bad side and caused the small human to fall to the ground in pain.

At least a hundred red crystals were closing in all around her.

Red was, two seconds away from crying out for help, watched on in horror and amazement as a ball of fire came from no where and knocked Romey over.

The flames were enough to scare the sadistic flower into letting go of the human. They immediately fled disappeared into the soil.

In turn causing Red's choice screen to ding and vanish.

She gained no EXP or LV.

"Hey you okay? Sorry it took so long to find ya."

This time the voice is most definitely feminine. Red, who had gone to nurse her weak ankle peered up to see a beautiful blonde monster.

The shadows prevented the young girl from seeing anything other than a face, but this particular monster looked nearly human.

Nearly being that she would have fooled anyone if not for the golden scales shimmering along the right edge of her face and neck.

"That flower's the worst. Always picking on the humans who fall down here. Hope they didn't burn ya to bad."

The monster was tall. At least a good foot above Red, yet leagues more sincere in her kindness then Romey had.

The human supposed though that looks could be deceiving even in the Underground.

The mysterious monster helped Red up to her feet. Then with gentle movements made it so the caped girl could use her scaled arm to balance out.

"Name's Yang, I heard that jackass call you Red. That's your name right?"

The small girl nodded once before allowing Yang to take the lead. She had no way of knowing where they were going, but anyone willing to save her from almost being burned to death seemed more than trust worthy.

Perhaps there was even a chance that the kind monster knew how to return to the surface.


	3. Yang Keeper of The Ruins PT1

After only a few minutes of walking, Yang finally guided Red up to a large purple archway. The pattern from edge to edge depicted a long and finely crafted golden dragon. Whose fiery smoke encased a jumble of neat foreign symbols unfamiliar to the human child.

イエロー美容バーンズゴールド

"Here we are!"

The tall monster opened up the door with a simple wave of her hand. Then from beyond the creaking fixture, a wave of warm light suddenly flooded Red's vision.

It both felt and looked exactly like what she had been expecting to find at the peak of Mt. Beacon. Warm, inviting, soft, and safe. How ironic that such a feeling could lie so far below the Surface? Inches away from the darkness of the despair filled cavern behind them no less.

Without wasting any time, Yang ushered the child into the room ahead. Immediately sealing the door back into place once inside.

"It's not much since this is only the front half, but my place isn't too much farther ahead"

Red certainly welcomed the change of scenery. There were plants everywhere that weren't orange and out to kill her.

The walls were tan with gold molding along the top and bottom edges. While the hard wood beneath them reflected a dark maroon oak mixed in with rich mahogany. Along every few feet rested large white pots containing giant purple lilacs that matched Yang's eyes.

It was beautiful.

It was simple.

It actually color corded amazingly well with the monster woman Red could finally see clearly.

Yang's seemed almost like a hybrid between fantasy and humanity. Her skin like aspects intertwining with the majesty of a fierce dragon. Red had been right though about the golden scales from earlier. The glow of the entrance way reflected back a light shimmer and trailed from the corner of her face, past her jawline, down her neck, and far below her clothing. There were also large patches of scales and normal looking skin crisscrossing along Yang's arms and legs. Her long massive hair was impressive as well, rivaling that of every model back on the Surface.

The wings also were a dead give away relating to her monsterism, but Red considered them just as astounding to see up close. They were scaled with a golden outer side with thin purple underlining matching their owner's eyes. Red wondered briefly if they too changed in hue like Yang's irises.

Her outfit consisted of a simple tan and black lined blouse that hugged her curves. A black sleeved jacket that lead up to a neck connector which crossed over her collarbone. A pair of leather knuckle-less gloves that HAD to be fireproof somehow considering the magic Red had seen in the cavern. A short black skirt with a connecting purple frill that met down just about mid thigh and passed over one of her two thigh high tights. A pair of black combat boots with matching tan bows on the heels finished off the appearance.

Other than those physical aspects, the monster woman spoke and dressed no differently than the people in the town above. And if Red was being honest, Yang easily looked more beautiful than any human she had ever seen. Scales and all.

But compliments would have to wait, for the dragon woman was suddenly very keen on getting a better look at the small girl's injured ankle.

"Geez kid, that fall must have really hurt? It really looks like you YANGED your self up pretty badly."

The pun got a half laugh half groan out of the human. Jokes that were so bad that they were funny were a few of the most bitter sweet joys in the world.

"Thank you thank you, I'm here all week. But seriously Red let's get ya fixed up. Here lift your foot for a sec."

The young girl did as told, and soon found that Yang had removed her purple side frill. She then pulled off a thick part of the metal armoring from her gloves and effortlessly bent it into a perfectly straight piece.

Red mentally added clearly stronger than humans to her list of now noticeable qualities.

With a grace almost unethically fair to posses, the monster placed the component directly onto the joint before tying it on snugly with her purple fabric.

Thus creating a perfect temporary stabilizer.

"I know it's not really your color, but it'll help."

True to her word, the lilac did clash along with her red and black set up, but it did it's job regardless.

The young human couldn't find it in herself to care in the slightest and merely accepted the first aid with a thank you hug. One which Yang was more than happy to return.

From there on the two continued to walk, slower for Red's sake, but at a much more comfortable pace for both parties.

"Glad you can join-t me in moving now kid."

Red nearly snorted. THAT one had just been plain awful. Never mind the matching smile slowly forming along her human face.

Eventually the halls began to twist and turn more often, and Red began to take note of small animal like monsters appearing. Their red beady eyes and black and white shells of armor made them look far more threatening. None of them even paid the two any mind, but the human still felt anxiety clawing away at her heart.

Vicious flashbacks to rainy nights in far off places she could barely recall the names of. When stray animals would fight her over territory, food, you name it.

Red didn't like the thought of reliving those days and unknowingly clung a little tighter to the dragon woman's side.

Yang noticed instantly.

"Don't worry about those. They're just Grimm. And little ones too."

Red gave a blank expression. Not at all familiar with the strange creatures.

"Guess the Surface doesn't teach much about monsters any more huh? Well look at it like this, the Grimm are kinda animal monsters, but in a brainless way. They don't speak, but they are capable of understanding more than a Surface animal."

The monster woman smiled reassuringly.

"They only ever attack in self defense and so long as you remain pacifistic none will attack ya. Promise."

As though trying to seem extra reassuring, Yang walked over towards a small bird Grimm and gently bent down to it's level. A screen similar to Red's appeared with the four options, but Yang merely MERCY hit SPARE once. As soon as that occurred the bird nuzzled into the woman's hand before flying off.

"See? Harmless. They know when you're not trying to fight and most of the time they'll run off. Only reason I letem stay down here is because they wander in outta curiosity."

It was a useful lesson, and Red thanked Yang once again. It was nice to have someone patient enough to help reassure and ease away fears.

To have someone care at all really.

"Oh hey! Look!"

Shaken away from her darker musings, Red noticed that they had stopped directly before a giant section of flooring that was made entirely of tiles.

Each one a different color.

"These here are my traps. I use 'em to keep strangers and bigger Grimm out. You can help me disable this one if you want!"

Red smiled and allowed Yang to direct her over to one of the near by lilac plants. Behind it was a multitude of switches and complex looking gears.

"See the third lever and the blue button a few inches away from it? Hit 'em both and come watch."

The human did as told and hurried back to see the tiles rapidly change color before all turning pink at once.

"Nicely done kid. See now when they are pink they are safe, but they'll reset in a few minutes so let's get movin!"

From there on the rest of the chamber continued on like that. Yang would pause and allow Red to slowly get the hang of solving each puzzle trap, then she'd praise her for a job well done.

It felt nice, and almost natural. So much to the point that when Yang had taken Red's hand in order to guide her over one of the more difficult traps, the human hadn't even blinked an monster woman cared. So much so that Red wondered when she had ever felt so accomplished.

Even over such simple tasks.

After nearly twenty minutes of getting the hang of how things seemed to operate, the duo reached a large open part of the path. Here Yang allowed the human a chance to see some more Grimm up close.

Once in range the screen from her battle with Romey appeared in front of Red.

Same choices.

FIGHT/ACT/ITEM/MERCY

"MERCY isn't usually my style when it comes to real fights. But trust me, it makes more sense in your case to remain peaceful."

Yang explained that some monsters required more ACT actions than others. How Red could talk to them or do other things to befriend opponents to the point where they would accept her MERCY because they'd lose the desire to fight.

It wasn't really a hard concept and Yang did a far better job of elaborating on the matter then Romey had.

She even showed the human how to easily dodge attacks while keeping out of target range in case anyone ever tried to hurt her.

"You don't have to worry 'bout that though. No one's gonna mess with you so long as imma round Red."

After talking down and showing MERCY to a few more Grimm, the young girl noticed that Yang appeared to be in deep thought about something. Red immediately asked what was troubling her.

"Huh? Oh its nothing important I just...uh. Hey look shorty, you mind if I leave for a few minutes? There's something I gotta take care of before ya reach my place."

The human suddenly felt over racked with guilt. She HAD been burdening Yang...

quick to wave off any need to worry, Red insisted that the dragon woman go handle her own business.

"You sure kid?...Okay but stay here and don't move, there are more traps up ahead and I don't wantcha getting hurt."

Before leaving, Yang knelt down to Red's height and pulled out a phone of sorts.

"This is a scroll and my numbers in it automatically. Call me if there's any problem alright? Ill be back asap!"

With a final smile, Yang hurried down one of the nearby corridors and left Red on her own.

Just like everyone else.

Feeling a new sense of dread wash over herself within the first couple of minutes, the human worried that the scroll was a fake and that Yang had ditched her. It was pretty used looking with a few stickers and scratches lining the back casing. For all Red knew it could be a complete set up.

With a cautiousness no child should ever be use to, the little girl dialed the number saved under "YANG" and prayed that anyone would answer.

Ring

Ring

Ring

Ring

"Yo for Yang, what's up short stack?"

The young girl was overjoyed at the sound of the Yang's voice. She hadn't abandoned her.

But now Red looked like she was distrustful of the other's promise.

Lying quickly that she had been wondering if Yang needed any help with her errand, Red began to tug on her cape. A nervous tick she loathed.

"Nah kid it's all under control! Just remember don't move until I get back okay?...OH wait! Quick completely unrelated question, what's your favorite snack?"

Red thought about the randomness of the inquiry, before she actually wondered whether or not there was any particular food she enjoyed.

She usually just took what she could get from the garbage cans around the town she had lived in on the Surface. Being a freelancing child left no room for picky eating habits.

Though there was one food she always hoped that the baker would have left overs of and toss out for her to savor. Staleness and dirt be damned.

Red answered with cookies. Chocolate chip to be precise.

"Really? Okay great! Be back soon kiddo!"

With that the call ended and the human girl was once again left on her own.

She considered for a while to obey Yang's request and stay put. But when her stomach began to growl after their discussion of snacks, Red decided to wander just a little farther out.

And by little she meant a lot.

There were certain layouts that became more elaborate the farther she walked. Such as waterfalls that made the hardwood slippery in spots. There were sudden pitfalls and escape routes everywhere. The human girl also noted that there were a few fake windows lined with drawn in pictures of the Surface.

At one point Red had met an actual ghost girl! one who could float and everything. Her name was Velvet, and while she had been extremely timid about her ghost ears when Red had told her she looked pretty, the human child liked to think they had made good enough first impressions.

Velvet had even said she hoped they would meet again.

For about half an hour after that, the young girl had encountered more Grimm, solved a few puzzles on her own, and found a few humorous puns and tips written out by Yang all over the landscape.

How on earth the dragon monster managed to keep such beautiful hardwood clean with all of the traps and monsters she had down here was beyond Red.

Eventually though the human found herself standing before another large purple arched door like the one before.

This time with a gold welcome mat in front of it, and a different set of symbols engraved down the middle.

あなたは私が弓にすることは決してないだろうあなたの夢に君臨

Red knocked once. Twice. Then waited.

To which a very surprised looking Yang answered the door.

"Red?! Wh-How did you get all the way here? I thought I told you-"

The young human's stomach suddenly growled terribly. Echoing loud and honestly enough for the dragon monster to suddenly forget her concern and burst onto a fit of laughter.

"Damn Red when was the last time ya ate?"

The human genuinely could not recall, but instead choose not to answer. It was Yang's fault for bringing up snacks in the first place!

Thankfully though the dragon woman's question was rhetorical as she ushered Red inside quickly.

"I had rushed off because I had wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess you are more RED-y than I thought!"

The human groaned. That one had been clever she'd admit.

Plus how could she be disheartened when Yang had gone off to surprise her of all people!

The feeling was so foreign, but so wonderful.

Red nearly hugged the monster for the second time today due to the overflow of emotions she found within such a small gesture.

But she didn't. Red would hate to come off as clingy so early into their friendship.

"Here come on to the kitchen. The cookies are probably done by now!"


	4. Yang Keeper of The Ruins PT2

The cookies were, for a lack of a better term, the single greatest thing the young girl could ever recall eating. Warm, soft, chewy, and completely unlike any dumpster scavenged halves Red found on occasion.

These ones tasted like the home she had never known. The home she never would know.

Now do not misunderstand, the human was no stranger to the feeling of despair and self doubt. However this time was different.

She wasn't drowning in a sense of her own hopeless from being alone, or the cold bitter nights her cape could not shield her from. Instead, Red was saddened over the feeling of genuine happiness. For once in her short life the young girl was truthfully happy.

Over something as small as homemade cookies.

The child hadn't even felt the tears bridging at the edge of her silver eyes until Yang was suddenly by her side.

The dragon enwrapped her in a tight hug. Allowing Red to hold onto the large mane of gold and cry. Cry and cry and cry like no innocent youth ever should.

Yang remained silent, not uttering a single word about the grip Red had on her precious hair. Instead she opted to allow the overwhelmed human to seek out the warmth of her embrace.

Both literally and figuratively.

There was no awkwardness to the comforting gesture. Only the foreign sense of safety. Before either one knew it, Red found that her body could no longer remain awake. Silver eyes closed with the last coherent thought in the young girl's mind being of how full her stomach and heart were for the first time in years.

Dreams of fire and laughing flowers. Dust burning against the strain of her twisted ankle. Voices from the Surface. Angry sounds, scrounging for food, mocking tones of the town's children.

A sickeningly sweet voice coming from a woman she couldn't place. Repeating over and over and over again...

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT-

Red awoke with a start. The screams still echoing deep within her small chilled body.

After allowing her heart rate to calm itself, the human noticed that when she looked up, there was no poorly fashioned rooftop made of cardboard. Nor was she amongst her usual pile of newspapers behind the Patch Inn.

No Red was in an actual bed. A soft and, honest to Remnant, comfortable bed with a thick cotton quilt pulled over top of her.

Romey, the Grimm, Yang, the Cavern, the traps, the cookies. It all came back to her in a single rush.

Realizing that Yang must have moved her to the small bedroom after she had passed out, the human flopped back against the vast array of pillows. Groaning out in distaste at her behavior.

The scent of chocolate distracted the young girl away from her mental chastisement. There was a small dish filled with cookies laying upon the dark mahogany nightstand next to her. Directly beneath the display laid a pale purple piece of parchment with scribbled half legible writing upon it.

"Healed up your ankle best I could. Ill look into it more later! Next time I'll make ya an actual dinner too -Yang"

The young girl couldn't help but smile softly at the gesture. She immediately stood up and pocketed a few of the treats along with the note. The visible show of kindness filled Red with a new sense of determination.

Before acting upon her bewfound energy though, the child took a moment to check out the room she was in.

It was undoubtably a bedroom, and a spacious one at that. There walls were covered in mixed patterns of white and red diamonds. The rich hardwood covered every inch of the floor. There were drawers filled to the brim with multiple colored/sized skirts, slacks, tshirts, jeans, sneakers, and undergarments. A few of the outfits could have even fit Red. But then again, the human was already was more than content with her worn and torn ensemble.

A few toys were also strewn about, along with an entire dresser housing a large collection of hand knit sweaters. Each had phrases such as "Ultimate Chef", "Tutu good for you", "A real Knockout", and "Talk Nerdy to Me" on them. Every single one varied in theme, color, and size.

It was clear that everything in the room already belonged to someone if not multiple children.

But, Yang had mentioned earlier that she lived alone...

Red didn't try and focus too long on the quizzical circumstances. Falling into a magic filled world of monsters had already shown that everything was plausible down here.

The human made sure to grab her red cape on the way out of the bedroom.

From then on, Red took her time and began to explore the rest of Yang's house.

The size was as impressive as her room had been. The colors of burgundy and tan matched that of the entrance's trap filled hall, and there were still large planters containing lilacs everywhere.

Aside from the color theme though, Red noted that there was a pristine bathroom, working bath and shower, fully stocked kitchen filled with lots of salmon and hot peppers? Red scrunched up her nose and agreed to stick with her pocket treats.

Further on there was a large den with a fire place that intimidated Red with it's size, a long stairway leading to a locked door that matched the purple one by the entrance, her guest room, and finally a state of the art training room across from the master bedroom.

The area was complete with practice dummies, weights, and sparring mats. Ironically enough there was also the person the child had been hoping to find!

Yang was dressed in a tight white tanktop, with holes in the back to give her wings room to move about, and black workout shorts. Her blonde hair was held back in a tight ponytail, while her hands continued to relentlessly assault, or incinerating, the practice dummy before her.

A jab left. Step step.

Hard kick right. Step step.

Over and over and over again until constant scorch marks began to trail along the dummy's surface with every blow.

The dragon was close to finishing it all off with a roundhouse, when she finally noticed Red's presence. How large and enamored silver eyes were with watching as fire danced along her hair and wings.

Not exactly the greatest example to set when enforcing the idea of being pacifistic.

"Oh! Hey kid, glad to see y'er up."

The human tried to apologize for interrupting, but the much larger woman shrugged it off easily. Quickly guiding Red out of the workout room, and back towards the den.

"Don't worry about it short stack. Wouldn't want you just YANGin around out here by yourself!"

If she wasn't so sure that Yang could punch her clear through a wall, Red would have strangled the monster for yet another awful pun.

Never mind the smile breaking on her grimacing face, it was completely involuntary.

"Oh come on, sis! That one was genius!"

Red froze mid step and peered up at the now blushing Yang. The dragon seemed to have heard her verbal blunder a second too late and tried desperately to back pedal.

"Red I meant Red! Not sis, I mean that would just be crazy, I WOULD be crazy to- to uhh call you that so soon, I mean not that I WAS planning on one day calling you sis I mean we just met and I don't want you to have to feel like you have to c-call me it back I just-"

Golden wings fluttered in nervous energy.

The human giggled despite herself, and watched on with amusement as Yang continued to ramble. It felt nice to know it wasn't just her that would be making the fool of herself between the duo.

Eventually the dragon noticed the face her human companion was making. Instantly she narrowed her lilac eyes as a single eyebrow rose up.

"Oh sure make fun of the giant deadly monster. That's real smart Red."

Silver eyes rolled with no trace of fear at the empty threat. Instead the human decided to act upon her new found determination.

With no hesitation, the child wrapped Yang in a tight hug. Hoping, feebly, that she could convey the same amount of understanding the dragon monster had given her earlier.

Red mumbled out softly that she'd love to call Yang her sister.

For a moment the older woman seemed lost in thought, before large scaled arms excitedly returned the embrace. An uncharacteristic squeal breaking from the towering blonde.

"Don't worry I'm gonna be the best big sister you've ever had!"

Impossible to be wrong, best and only "sister" really, but the sentiment was still there.

Neither were able to count how long they stood there. Each had become too lost on the simple enjoyment and comfort they projected onto one another. Yang, after being sure that the himan seemed okay to detach, released herself from Red's hug and began leading the human towards the den once again.

The child had clearly seen more than enough magic to believe about anything at this point. But for whatever reason the sight of the monster woman blowing a gust of fire into the fireplace made the human gape in wonder.

Dragon or not that was impressive.

The blonde smiled at her new sister's amazed look and quickly pushed over a small plush chair to sit besides the building flames. Directly across from the monster sized leather recliner.

"Im gonna get changed real quick, you wait here. I'll try not to DRAGON for too long."

Definitely forced. Forced and undoubtably the worst pun yet. Red felt that she had every right to throw her pillow at Yang's laughing form that rushed out of the room.

Once the steps faded away, the child sat there for a moment, lost in the gaze of the trickling licks of heat.

The warm glow and soothing lull of the crackling wood. It all just brought Red back to her musings of the laughter from her dream. She was positive she had never known anyone who spoke or snickered in such a way, and yet with the scent of the burning oak dulling all of her senses, the only thing the human could hear was the smoothness of the stranger's words.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT-

Suddenly Yang plopped herself down on the recliner across from Red. Startling away the final moments of her reminiscent delusion.

"There's more cookies in the kitchen if you wanna grab some lil sis."

The human smiled and hopped from her chair. Beginning the short journey towards the promised treats. Yang raised her voice loud enough to ensure Red could still hear her.

"How about salmon for dinner? If not I could make hot pepper soup, spicy salmon rolls, roasted peppers with grilled salmon, spicy salmon breaded with...You know what? I think I have a problem..."

The human chuckled at Yang's dawning realization of her dietary habits.

Red called back and said anything was fine, so as not to let the dragon ponder over her minimalistic grocery list too much.

"Hey how about next week we start redecorating your room? New games and some more clothes, maybe even a few-oh! I almost forgot I started working on it while ya were asleep, but I made you a new-"

The rest of whatever the blonde was said faded away in Red's mind.

The young girl's body stilled completely as her mid racked around trying to see where it had misheard. The human had never said anything about staying.

They had agreed upon nicknames and the child had more then appreciated the other's hospitality sure, but remaining underground was a completely different story.

There were no humans here, no sunshine, and only the Grimm to keep her company? Besides Yang's obvious devotion, what kind of life was there to live in the seclusion of the Ruins? Wake up, eat, wash, repeat?

Would Red be okay with just...existing? Of course not. She wouldn't even try to lie to herself about such thoughts.

Especially since almost dying on Mt. Beacon had drastically redirected how the young girl considered her life. If she had disappeared, she would have simply become another tally on humanity's list of the too weak to survive. A forgotten piece of the game, and a useless one at that.

No, Red had made up her mind the second she had begun her fall into the darkness of the underground. She wanted to live. She needed to live! It was the very basis of every human's will. To survive! Not scrounge through garbage, or live life hidden below the earth being a coward.

She wanted to go on. She wanted to become something more. She wanted to keep on moving forward.

And heavens above knew she would succeed at none of that if she were tucked away down below the hollows of the Surface.

The determination that had soared during her near demise was a wake up call. One Red had known she had to act on since the moment she stood up upon the orange flower bed.

But as quickly as she realized how badly she longed to see the sunset against the horizon of the Surface one last time, Red's heart began to constrict with dread.

There was no way she could go back to where Romey had been. Which meant the locked exit was the only other option. But now that Yang was so hellbent on her moving in, the human wondered...if maybe...

No. Yang wouldn't ever try and trap her down here. Yang wanted what was best for her! And at that moment what was best was leaving the Underground.

As if to prove it to herself, the human turned back to her only ally and asked straight up when she could leave the Ruins.

Yang, who had still been explaining what it was she had been working on for Red, seemed completely taken aback.

"Leave?"

Red nodded eagerly and asked again, politely, how to get back to the Surface.

"The Surface?"

The small human nodded and slowed her words this time.

Not at all liking how the usually talkative woman was only capable of mimicking her words at the moment.

She asked Yang once more, how to exit the Ruins. Silver eyes became more wide and pleading the longer the tense silence continued on for.

Red took note of how the monster woman was nearly snapping the chair handles with the grip she has on them.

Yang's face though betrayed not a single ounce of the clear anger she was restraining.

And that made it all the scarier.

"Kid. I have to go check on something real quick. How about we talk bout this later. Okay?"

Without another word, the dragon woman stormed out of the room. Startling Red with the intensity burning in her now red eyes.

The human briefly wondered when the air within the den had become so dry and humid.

However her puzzled mindset didn't last too long, for within moments she realized just how upset Yang now was. Yet at the same time the wrenching feeling that her soul had taken on told Red that she needed to follow the dragon.

Unsurprisingly the locked off exit at the bottom of the stairway, appeared to be where the blonde had rushed off too. The tiniest pinch of odd colored light shined past the edges of the ajar purple doorway.

バラのような赤は私の夢を満たし、あなたがたを休ま場所に私をもたらし

Red hurried past the golden script, and rushed down new hall.

It was almost an exact replica of the entry way. The only differences being the lack of Grimm, traps, and ominous lighting.

Gone was the soft warmth of the golden fluorescence. Instead now there was nothing, but a nearly demonic red hue poisoning every inch of the passage.

The only thing the child could see was the corner directly ahead. No flowers or design or notable features. Just silence.

Red tried to move as quickly as possible, mentally attempting to outrun the growing shadow that trailed behind her every step.

At the turn, Red spotted Yang. She was turned around so her back faced the human. Her scaled arms were raised high above her head, while soft foreign words slipped past her lips.

Whatever it was Yang was doing caused the strange letters, that had been on every door, to float and move around upon the structure. Most likely cutting off the small human's last means of escape.

Red called out for Yang to stop. Her meek voice echoing over the frizzled pops of the deteriorating exit.

The dragon paused and slowly turned to confront the apprehensive young girl.

The look on her scaled face was enough for the young girl to take several steps back.

Never, not even on the Surface, had Red ever seen someone look so utterly broken.

"Ya need to turn around right now lil sis. Go back upstairs, and go to bed."

Yang's voice did not waver. She sounded deadly serious. Almost threatening.

Red took the smallest of steps forward.

She was done playing the coward.

"Trust me...you arent the first kid who's fallen down here."

Another step forward.

Nearly using up all of the courage within her soul, Red kept staring directly into Yang's red irises.

"Not every Grimm is as nice as the ones you've met…The monsters out there are going to try and hurt you!"

Step.

"I can't protect you if you go out there. Don't you understand that?"

Step.

"We could be happy here sis...I know it's not much, but...please let me just-"

Step.

It takes all of her willpower, but the small child manages to stand tall before Yang. Only a foot of tense air stood between the human and her "sister".

Red insisted one final time on leaving.

"I...Fine."

The entire length of Yang's hair suddenly ignited into a blinding golden light. Red stumbled back a few steps to properly view the spectacle and avoid being burned. The dragon's hands twitched slightly.

"...I should have known you would be like everyone else."

Yang's once pleading face had hardened completely. Gone were any traces of negotiation.

Fire engulfed fists suddenly raised up into a proper battle stance.

Right on cue the options screen appeared before Red.

FIGHT/ACT/ITEM/MERCY

"You wanna leave so badly? Fine. But Im not letting you go out there until you prove to me youre strong enough!"

A blast of fire suddenly came too close for comfort to Red's left side. The human instinctively dropped to the ground. The movement quickly reminded the small girl of her sprained ankle.

Yang's purple fabric made splint glistened against the reflecting flames tickling against the walls.

Without warning, the human's body rolled over to the side as another shot barely managed to graze her cape.

The stench of singed fabric flooded her senses.

Yang was not holding back.

The smallness of the hallway made it especially difficult for Red to dodge. However it seemed that the battle system of the Underground allowed a give and take for both sides. Allowing Red to take a turn every other time, and thus adding the tiniest fraction of a chance to respond.

The human used her first turn on ACT and tried to call out for Yang to stop. But the dragon was already far beyond any means of reasoning.

In fact she just looked straight through Red, like she wasn't even there.

Another blast of power caused the human to tuck and cover her head. The jolt caused her red hood to fall over her head. Perfectly on time to protect the roots of her hair from catching on fire from the overhead shot.

A voice in the back of Red's head screamed at the human to FIGHT. The tone was calm, yet deliberately loud enough to edge the child's hand closer towards the leftmost button.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT-

But Red was stronger. She knew deep down there was a better way.

Red pressed MERCY for the next turn. Her arms extended out in a peaceful gesture.

Yang ignored the sparing motion and sent a high kick straight for the human's stomach.

Red barely managed to hop over the blast in time. Ashes and dust from the rapid strikes began to fill up the human's small lungs.

It hurt, by gods above did it hurt, but The young girl refused to stop.

Again though, Red moved her hand over top of the MERCY option. Again the human opened her arms in a harmless show of defiance. Again Yang looked past her. Again. Again. Again. Again.

This continued on for what felt like hours. Red was sure her cape was completely scorched and the smoke inhalation was in no way helping her health status.

Her HP bar was teetering on the very edges of the end.

Still, no matter how badly her shaking legs wished to give out beneath her, the human showed her twenty-third MERCY.

She opened up her arms, only to hear Yang finally speak up since the very start of the match.

"ATTACK OR RUN AWAY!"

Another shot of fire came towards Red's face. She barely had a second to catch her breath before kneeling to dodge.

She pressed the MERCY button again.

"What are you proving this way? FIGHT ME OR LEAVE!"

Yang sounded nearly as desperate as Red felt. Silver eyes met Red for only a split second. Something flashed across Yang's eyes. A look of remembrance.

This time an unusually off course ball of fire sailed high above the human's head.

Another MERCY.

The young girl could feel her bad ankle starting to weaken. The constant movement was becoming too much.

"S...Stop looking at me that way!"

Another MERCY.

The human barely noticed how the monster's eyes were flipping from red to lilac. Her brain was too busy berating her on her stupid actions.

The next attack came nowhere near Red's trembling form.

"Stop...stop sis please stop!"

Another MERCY.

"...Red...please..."

Yang finally allowed her body to slump forward. The fires that had once ignited her fists, burned out with a single hiss.

Red collapsed onto her knees, and weakly reached towards her screen.

Another MERCY.

"I know you want to go home. I get it...But please...please just go upstairs."

Yang completely skipped any sort of action. The human girl smiled despite her pain.

MERCY.

"I promise I will take care of you here!"

MERCY.

"I know I don't have much but-"

MERCY.

"We could have a good life."

MERCY.

Red could feel her soul beginning to tingle with exhaustion. Every bone in her human body screamed for her to do anything but contiue to try and move.

And yet once again. Her arms opened to show her empty palms.

MERCY.

"...Why are you making this so difficult..."

MERCY.  
MERCY.  
MERCY.

The silence reigned over the two for an eternity. Neither one moved an inch, as Yang's now lilac eyes began to drip with tears. Every one sizzled and turned to smoke against her burning cheeks.

"How pathetic...I can't even save one kid."

Red, despite her devastated lungs, rasped out what was meant to be a condolence. But Yang spoke over her small voice.

"You don't have to explain. I was stupid to think being trapped down here would make you anything other than unhappy...My expectations. My loneliness. My fear..."

Yang actually laughed as dryly and humorlessly as Romey had back in the cavern.

"For you little sister. Ill put them aside."

The screen before both girls dinged once before disappearing for good.

Red won! No EXP or LV gained.

Yang finished wiping away the very last of her tears. Than moved carefully to kneel before Red.

The human could feel the dragon's hesitation to lay her hand upon her head. But the moment she did the tiniest sensation of relief began to flood through out Red's injured body. The burns and scratches she had gained seemed to numb out slowly.

"I can't heal you all the way. I used up a lot of my power to try and fix your busted ankle earlier...Once you leave the Ruins a little bed rest and some proper food will make you feel better."

For a second Red recalled the cookies she had pocketed from earlier and gently moved a single treat out from her pocket. The chocolate had melted from the heat of the fight, but still the human couldn't help when offer the snack to her beloved caretaker.

Red pleaded that she eat something to regain her magic back if only slightly.

Yang laughed and nearly sobbed at once.

"You definitely need those more than I do little Red. Save them for a rainy day..."

Suddenly recalling what she had been trying to give to Red earlier, Yang pulled, from seemingly nowhere, a small black sweater.

The same style and fashion as the ones that had been back in the bedroom closet.

In clear red embroidery were the words Cookie Monster.

"...it's not much. But it'll give you an added defense status and...you know keep ya warm. Cookies seem to be your thing and...yeah..."

Feeling her body begin to regain feeling within itself, the small girl allowed her tears to fall freely. She grasped onto the sweater like a life line.

A few hours, a couple years, even a single moment with Yang proved to the human there was still good left in the world.

Wether below or above, there was a reason to continue on.

To live.

The older woman seemed to hesitate between wanting to embrace and comfort the young girl, or rather let her be. But maternal instinct always won out when it came to Yang.

"Once you leave here...Please don't come back. I can't...I can't...I hope you understand. Be careful out there little sis. Stay determined."

Before the small girl could say her own farewell to her beloved guardian, Yang rushed off. Abandoning the scene before her and leaving Red to lay before the now unlocked exit door.

影から、 我々は、世界に下るだろう


	5. Blake and Weiss PT1

The moment Red stepped past the final doorway of the Ruins, a wave of frigid air smacked her square in the face.

It took a few seconds for her silver eyes to adjust, but when they did everything became blindingly white.

There was snow.

Everywhere.

On every branch, all across the ground, even a few small flurries still drifted from the endless dark sky above. The cool air overlapped effortlessly with a picturesque eternal setting. The seemingly frozen, no pun intended, moment reminded Red of a fairytale.

However the drastic change in temperature snapped the child back into her senses. The area ahead was well below any sort of comfortable journey weather, and for a moment the human longed to rush back towards the Ruins' warmth.

As though sensing her thoughts, the purple doorway slammed shut behind Red. Sealing off any hope of retreating. Of ever seeing Yang again.

The human turned to place a single hand upon the purple door frame. Her other arm clutched on to the sweater in her grasp.

She couldn't blame the dragon for any thing. All Yang had done was try to protect her, and as a result they had split apart.

It would have been selfish to request for the older woman to completely abandon her home and play body guard for her. Never mind the fact that Red was positive she would have complied had the human begged enough.

And it would have been a sign of defeat to agree to Yang's terms of staying. To never again know anything other then the four corners to the forsaken Underground.

What could have been did not matter anymore though. No amount of scenarios or time together could have made their farewell any less heartbreaking. After all, time meant nothing.

They could have been sisters to each others for years, versus seconds, and Red still would shake at the thought of leaving the dragon. She still would bite her tongue to keep the tears threating to escape her eyes in check.

Yang was the only person in Red's lifetime that ever gave a damn.

And if the dragon had truly already lost so many other children, her behavior made sense. The protectiveness, the need to please, the constant smile. It all was a wall.

The real pain the young girl hid behind her metallic eyes, the years of loneliness, desperation...it was all what Yang felt herself.

The dragon understood Red's need to return to the world of the sun. The constant ache of missing what you had lost. The feeling of regret after regret after regret. Even now not five minutes after deciding to survive through will alone, Red felt her hasty decision clawing at her back.

Yang was gone. She was alone in a world of beings who wanted nothing more then for her blood to spill. She was alone. She was scared. She was cold. Red could feel the tightness in her chest reaching a near choke like tension.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT-

No. Red shook her head.

Striving to live was always better then just existing. Even if it was a fight with little gain, it was still her life. And the young girl refused to worry about her actions any longer.

She owed it to Yang and herself, now more then ever, to keep trying.

Red turned forward with a new sense of determination in mind. She unhooked her cloak and slipped the warm wool material in her arms over her head. Then with a quick whoosh, she placed the memorable hood back upon her shoulders before starting the long trek ahead.

The human briefly wondered if the few matching sweaters back in the dragon's home had been left behind by the children who ran before Yang could warn them of the icy tundra ahead.

Or if maybe Yang had gone out to find the sweaters she had worked long and hard to make barren of any owner...

The human wondered how long each of the previous children stayed before leaving the blonde alone to wait for a new friend.

Red shook away her ominous thoughts and contiued on.

The barren walkway lead clearly through the tall leafless forest. Each tree stood stories above the human's head. Seeming almost endless as to where in the sky their branches stopped.

They also made the young girl feel even smaller then she already was.

It was so quiet. So painfully and unimaginably quiet save for the occasional whistle of the chilly wind or clatter of her own teeth.

There was nothing besides the voice in her head.

Fight. Fight. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT-

No.

Fight FIGHT FIGHT-

NO.

Suddenly the ricocheting echo of a branch snapping behind her startled the human back into reality.

Red turned around, only to see not a single footprint laid in the powdered path save for her own.

A few feet behind there laid a newly fallen tree branch. Along the snapped off ends rested disfigured bark with alarmingly large claw marks torn through it.

The child swore she had heard, no, had felt a presence behind her. Almost as though she were being followed. Looked at. Judged. By some ever knowing being.

Red couldn't bear to allow her anxious thoughts to catch up with her stuttering heart. She quickly turned forward once again and began to jog at a brisk pace.

Every so often Red's eyes played tricks on her peripherals. Making it seem as though there was presence trailing besides her in the tree length.

But whenever she turned, there was nobody in sight.

Finally after nearly ten minutes of dying from her own stress, the child reached a small wooden bridge.

Overtop laid an odd sort of fencing that nearly resembled prison bars. Yet the space in between was far to large to stop anything.

The pathway itself cleared straight over the small dark pitfall beneath.

Red sucked in the cold air greedily. Allowing the prickling sensation that filled her lungs slowly and surely. She hoped to calm her heart rate back down to normal before continuing.

She was being silly. There was no one there. And even if there were they would have attacked her by now.

"Human."

Red's heart dropped to her stomach as a small squeak tore from her throat. Her entire body refused to budge a single inch.

The voice was directly behind her. Barely a foot or maybe less away.

"I hope you know, you have the worst timing ever."

Red's silver eyes were still wide with fear, as the delicate feeling of a hand being placed upon her shoulder caused the child's knees to buckle.

This was it. The monster who would end her short life was finally done playing cat and mouse.

It was going to kill her.

With a nearly dizzying speed, Red found herself turned around. The sight that greets her were two narrow slits of amber, feline ears, and...a smirk?

"I was just at the good part of my book too. Pity."

A part of the human's heart was ready to go into cardiac arrest. But before she could consider calling for help, the monster before her begins to snicker. She actually was chuckling at her!

Red Almost wanted to be offended.

"Woah easy. I was just messing with you kid, don't look so scared."

The tall woman patted the human gently on the head with her other hand before releasing the child's shoulder.

Red allowed herself a few minutes to process what was happening.

The monster, a girl, was not going to maul her. Rather she sounded almost playful if not for the monotony hint lacing her words.

She, whoever she was, was just like Yang. A humanoid facial structure that fell away into a more and more hybrid like body. Long black hair, amber eyes, and pale skin. Though instead of dragon traits, this woman appeared to be a big cat of sorts. Panther? Maybe a puma?

However she had no other noticable "fur" to speak of save for the black mane of hair that reached to her mid back.

Did all monsters have ridiculously nice hair?

Besides that, Red also noted the pair black ears and matching tail that swayed along with the winter air. Those feline features were the only abnormalities the human could see.

The stranger though was more or less as impressive in Surface apparel as Yang's had been. She wore a white v-neck zip-up shirt that had black lining along the bottom, and sleeves that ended just before the elbows. Below the sleeves were dark ribbons that wrapped down to her wrist before connecting to two seperate bracelets.

Her black pants had matching vertical gray stripes on the outer side of each leg. It all was being held up by a small belt that extended along the back into a half skirt sort of style. Dark purple frill just barely extending an inch past her midthigh. To top it off, she wore black high-heel boots that came halfway up her calves.

Harldy an outfit made to fend off the cold weather, but stunning all the same.

There was also a visible weapon of sorts attached to the monster's hip. It wasn't armed towards her, but Red still could feel her eyes falling back on to the holster every few seconds.

The woman noticed this as well.

"What? You think I'm gonna attack?"

Red didn't know how to properly answer. Would it be insulting to say yes?

Sure the feline woman seemed harmless, but so had Romey. And if that abomination had proved one thing it was that a smile could hide a lot.

"Relax human, If I wanted to fight your screen would have already appeared."

That was true. And considering that the monster had a good foot over top of her in height plus an armed weapon, both knew it wouldn't be much of a fight at all.

Red's shoulders loosened slightly.

"Name's Blake, welcome to Atlas."

The monster moved to outstretch her hand. After a moment of deliberation Red took it.

"You gotta name?"

The young girl nodded once before introducing herself as well.

"It's nice to meet you Red. I- woah? You okay, looks like you banged up your ankle?"

The human peered down. She had almost forgotten about the splint.

To any observer it was quite obviously a hard thing to miss considering the color contradiction. But to Red it still felt like it was the last piece of Yang she had left. Even from a distance the dragon was helping her.

Literally the splint was supporting half her weight!

"Do you need to rest or anything? Mine and Weiss's place is just a few minute's north of here."

Blake seemed trustworthy enough, but Red remained torn. For all she knew trusting a complete stranger could lead to her getting kidnapped. Or worse.

However the promise of a possible safe rest sounded almost too good to pass up. And Yang had said sleep would heal up her HP, which was most likely still pretty low...

The human decided to weigh the odds in favor of accepting Blake's offer.

With a nod, Red admitted she could use some help.

"No problem. Come on, if we hurry now we can try and avoid Weiss. Gods above know she's gonna freak when she finds out your here."

Red allowed Blake to immediately take the lead. The two went over the bridge way with ease, though the child following behind at a slower pace.

Turns out jogging back when she thought she was being hunted, may not have been the smartest idea. If Blake noticed she didn't point it out.

"This is one of Weiss's traps actually. She wanted to make a wall, but it would have been a pain for passing monsters to have to climb every day. so ta-da 'human proof' prison bars."

The sarcasm made Red smile. Blake said none of it with contempt, just amusement.

It was clear she was actually very proud of this Weiss person for at least trying.

The duo continued on for a few silent minutes before Red could no longer control her curiosity.

The human asked about Weiss.

Suddenly a broad smirk appeared across the feline monster's face.

"How does one explain the Ice Queen? To start she's my housemate and best friend. She works on traps mostly during the day, yet she has no sense of engineering whatsoever."

Red supposed the bridge was more then enough of an example to go by.

"And when she's not miserably trying to cook anything edible, or play soldier for Pyrrha, she's busy yelling for me to-"

"BLAKE!"

A sudden shrill voice called out a few feet ahead. Blake paused mid step before chuckling.

"Speak of the devil."

The monster peered around quickly before pointing towards a nearby flowerbed laying besides a small abandoned looking rest stop.

"Pull up your hood and go hide behind that conveniently placed garden of roses. I want you to get a good look of the Ice Queen before you meet her."

Red didn't have time to consider just how odd it was to see a full bed of fresh flowers in a desolate frozen wasteland before as she rushed off to obey Blake.

Best not to overthink it.

Seconds later, the human could see another female monster briskly making her way around the forest's edge.

Suddenly the nickname "Ice Queen" made a lot more sense.

Weiss as she was called, was nearly camouflaged against the snowy exterior of the Atlas forest behind her. She was the only nongrimm and non-half animal monster the human had yet to see.

Weiss's skin was as pale and pristine as the fallen powder laying upon the ground. Her long blue tinted silver hair was pulled into a high ponytail that rested towards her right side. There were also interesting patterns of snowflakes that ran along her neck and what Red could see of legs. It appeared engraved into the porcelain features as though the world's greatest ice sculptors had given the monster the most beautifully intricate tattoos.

Red mentally noted that even despite the noticeable crack that laid over Weiss's left eye, the embodiment of winter itself was practically flawless.

Her outfit consisted of a pure white dress detailed in fine black edging and two columns of four black buttons on the abdomen. Her combat skirt was nearly identical to Red's, except for Weiss's inside contained black frills rather then red.

The monster's thigh-high, white heeled boots with black stockings nearly made the human's mind short circut.

She was the definition of perfection.

Nevermind the visible sword attached to her side, Weiss was easily the sweetest, most beautiful, and pure looking being to ever grace Red's eyes.

"Blake! Why arent you at your post! Were you reading on the job again?!

Scratch that.

The anger in the frostbitten monster's voice caused Red to press herself just a little bit closer towards the rose bed underneath of her.

Weiss was easily the seemingly purest looking actually terrifying monster ever.

Still beautiful though. That aspect was not at all altered despite the aggitated tone. It might have even been heightened.

"No Ice Queen. I was not reading. Just admiring the flowers over there. Aren't they nice?"

Weiss's hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

"We have one job. And it does not include lazing around looking at random plots of flowers all day."

"Aw come on Weiss. Don't you ever just wanna stop and smell the roses?"

Red had to cover her mouth from snickering. She'd admit that pun had been very clever, and if not hiding, the human would have even added in a subtle ba dum tiss after it.

"Blake this is not the time for jokes."

"Then why are you smiling?"

"I AM NOT SMILING! Can you just focus on work for once?! What if a human comes and walks right past you while you're busy staring at those flowers?"

Blake made a movement between a shrug and a nod, before crossing her arms knowingly.

"Then I guess Pyrrha will be forced to not let you join the huntsmen guard. You'll sulk around for an hour, then go right back to trying to impress her and ask her on a date."

Weiss's pale face became an unnatural shade of purple. Clearly flustered at the accusation.

"I-You?! Pyrrha is- I just follow her orders! If King Ozpin trusts her why shouldn't I?!" "Because Oz isn't crushing on her 24/7." Weiss was REALLY starting to blush now. "IM NOT CRUSHING ON HER! She likes that dumb scientist from Vacuo. I just think if she is willing to trust us with such an important job we should honor that responsibility!"

Blake cocked a hip to the side.

"Yeah sitting out in the snow and waiting for hours on end for nothing is really important."

The ice monster's entire posture screamed irritation.

"Damn it Blake, can't you be serious for one minute!"

"I am! You're the one who's being so FRIGID."

"...You did not just say that."

Another smirk crossed Blake's face as she began to edge closer towards Weiss.

Who in turn stepped back.

"What? Don't be so COLD, I'm just kidding around."

"Belladona I swear-"

Blake pointed at her face with triumph.

"You're trying not to smile again!" "I AM NOT!" "Two smiles in one day? I hope hell doesn't FREEZE over too much."

Weiss looked about ready to strangle the feline.

But suddenly a dangerous glint filled the snow monster's eyes.

"Oh Blake all these awful jokes...you've CAT to be KITTEN me."

Red nearly tipped over in the fit of giggles she had fallen into, while Blake just seemed pissed.

The feline eventually raised her hands in surrender. Though a small smile played at the edges of her lips.

Weiss too gave a matching grin before straightening her back into a soldier stance and marching back the way she came.

"I'll see you later after my shift."

"Weiss, I almost forgot. We have a guest coming over tonight for dinner!"

The icy monster turned back around with a raised brow.

"This isn't another blind date is it?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

The snowy monster huffed before crossing her arms.

"Who?"

"It's a surprise."

"Coming from you that can only mean a headache...very well. Tell whoever they are I look forward to meeting them later."


End file.
